


dust to dust

by notkellymarie



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Canon Compliant, Canon Universe, F/M, Rey POV, but i’ll take a forehead kiss, ep ix predictions y’all, jj please, nah i know it’s not happening but let me live
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-06
Updated: 2018-08-06
Packaged: 2019-06-22 21:15:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 548
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15590862
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/notkellymarie/pseuds/notkellymarie
Summary: sabers extinguished, amidst the wreckage, rey and kylo face each other one more time





	dust to dust

**Author's Note:**

> so a week ago, i found a note i didn’t remember writing, dated May 5, 2018. turned out to be a semi-coherent fanfic, a prediction of how Ep IX would end. it’s a cheeseball but i’m not a writer and it was written in a fugue-like state, so there’s literally no reason for it to actually be good. 
> 
> anyway here it is, pretty much unedited except for formatting.

Embers rain, the flames illuminating the scene of destruction around them, the scent of burning metal and plasma sizzling in the air.

 

It’s familiar. They’ve been here before.

 

She remembers the last time they fought together — the exhilaration, the intensity, the hope that rose within her, the pain of admitting the truth, and the despair of betrayal. Now she is afraid to face him, afraid of who she’ll find staring back at her.

 

Will it still be Kylo Ren, or will it be Ben Solo?

 

Rey finally turns and looks up at him. His large frame is heaving with deep breaths, and sweat is dripping from his brow. For a moment, she thinks he’s going to speak but he stays still, his expression unreadable.

 

An echo of a snowy night and cracked earth flits through her mind, then an image of a grotesque creature cleanly split in half amidst a blazing inferno. It makes her shiver, but she understands.

 

It’s her turn to ask.

 

“Come with me.”

“No.”

 

A knife of fear twists inside her heart. Had she been wrong? Is he going to leave her again?

 

“Ben?”

“Not yet.”

“Ben—” 

 

_Please don’t go this way. Not again._

 

Perhaps they are doomed to forever continue this dance. Two planets orbiting each other, occasionally coming together, only to end up walking away.

 

But something is different, this time. While visibly exhausted, his body is relaxed, and his eyes are fierce but not with anger.

 

“Even after what we did... the First Order still has a foothold in corners of the galaxy. I have to make this right.”

 

It takes her a few seconds to comprehend what he said, then her body reacts all at once. She shudders with relief, tears pricking at her eyes and stinging her throat. He picks up on this and distress flashes across his features, but she shakes her head to calm his thoughts.

 

“Where are you going?”

“As far as their allies know, I’m still the Supreme Leader. I can undermine them and work on the inside until the whole First Order is razed to the ground.”

 

Kylo Ren, the son of darkness. Kylo Ren, who felt the pull to the light and fought against it for so long. Ben Solo.

 

“I will come back. I promise. Then I will take the punishment for everything I’ve done.”

“You’re going by yourself?”

 

A corner of his mouth curves up into a wry smile, then a tender look washes over his face. She’s seen it before, in the firelight a lifetime ago, his bare hand stretched out to graze her fingertips.

 

“Not completely.”

 

Of course. He is not alone, neither is she, and they never will be again.

 

“Rey, I l—“ he hesitates, brows furrowing. Then quietly, urgently, “Tell my mother I love her.”

 

A thousand words rest on her tongue like butterflies perched on petals, preparing to take flight.

_Stay._

_Let me come with you._

_The rest of the galaxy can take care of itself._

_It doesn’t matter._

But in her heart she recognizes that he has already made up his mind. Instead, she gazes at him, and she scans her memories, honing in on the image they both saw that night in the hut.

 

_“You’ll stand with me.”_

 

Softly, softly, she nods.

 

 

 

“She knows.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> title is from a [song](https://youtu.be/yJbmXvBJhCs) by The Civil Wars, which is one of my most favorite songs and is perfect for these two goobers


End file.
